Drigo suggests cheaper prices for fish

Locally caught fish

Fisheries Minister Agriculture, Johnson Drigo, has suggested that fisher folk around Dominica lower the prices at which they sell fish considering that more Dominicans are consuming the commodity.

He made that proposal at a handing over ceremony of fishing equipment during a first ever Fisheries Open Day event on Monday, July 10th 2017 at the Roseau Fisheries Complex on the Bay Front.

Drigo said that it is known that more Dominicans are consuming fish “more than ever before” because of the increased number of fish coming at fish landing sites.

“We only wish that the fishermen would sell the fish cheaper, but they have not been able to bring their prices down, but we hope that they are listening and I know that they can drop their prices and make it easier for the consumers,” Drigo added.

However, he said that he is very satisfied with the progress that government is making in the Fishing Industry, the efforts that are being made to ease costs and see it develop to a higher level.

He stressed that Dominicans both here and abroad should support the Fishing Industry just as the government is doing, to make it a thriving industry on the island.

Drigo noted that quite a number of young persons are looking fishing equipment such as boats and engines, and so, the government is playing its part, especially with the loan facility made available at the Agricultural and Industrial Development (AID) Bank.

“Not all of the young people want to go into agriculture or into farming, some of them, they have the knack for fishing, and we will continue to support them, but we cannot support all of them, and with our initiatives in fish export, which continues for certain, there will be a market for young fishers when they go out there,” he remarked

The equipment, which included flashlights, compasses, a scale for weighing fish and a filleting table, was secured by Ambassador Loreen Bannis Roberts through provisions made by the World Development Forum.

 

 

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45 Comments

  1. Susan
    July 13, 2017

    I agree with the minister. Price of fish is too high! What about the poor of the land? How will they eat when one has to buy to fishes for $8?
    The fishermen of before had it hard and they used to eat and they did well. Their children went to school and are a success, whe you look at the people who sell the fish their lives don’t reflect the money that they make, because wealth gotten by ill gain soon goes away.

  2. Let The Truth Be Known - Original
    July 12, 2017

    If the government assists them, in gratitude they could pay back, in that decrease their cost of fish. The government may have to set a price. This should keep the cost down. Those fishermen will not lose. If your cost is a bit less expensive, you will get a lot of customers. The more you give, the more you get.
    Permit me to tell you a little story. When I was a child (again :lol: ), there was a man from a certain D/can village who would supply my parents with fish free of charge. Whenever they went fishing and were going to town to sell them, they would always give us some fish, especially Jacks. I ate a lot of fish in those days. Brain food :lol:
    I understood the owner of the fishnet gave directives to supply my parents with fish. This man was well-known in his village/community. My father or grandparents must have done him a good/great favor. As a child, you ask very little questions, if none at all. They were all good people.

  3. Voice of Reason
    July 12, 2017

    Thought prices were driven by supply and demand!! Just thinking.

  4. Anon
    July 12, 2017

    \”Ambassador Loreen Bannis Roberts through provisions made by the World Development Forum.\”

    Ambassador to the Virgin Islands?? and that\’s not even a country. What a cooshy job created for a pal. And that\’s $4000-$8000 a month, cottect me if you know the numbers, but I wonder if getting just some pencils from attending a WD forum is much of an achievement when many countries secured millions from these entitlements. Hmmm how do I get paid handsomely to stay home in the VI\’s? I may have to be like Asa and knoe ppl that kno ppl.

    • Gary
      July 12, 2017

      Wow, you need to know more about your Country before making
      such comment. Loreen Bannis-Roberts is the United Nations (UN) Ambassador for Dominica. Loreen Bannis-Roberts was never an Ambassador to the Virgin Islands.

      • Anon
        July 14, 2017

        Didn’t they just placed her in that slot just yesterday? Most of us down here are still not yet aware but alarmed at the lack of priority and lack of importance they put on the UN post held in high esteem by most countries. They even used the UN post to, in effect, exile Crispin a few years ago. Do just a little research. Smh

  5. Anthony P. Ismael
    July 12, 2017

    Drigo do right. You give them free boat, free engine, free line, free gas and free ice machine. Now you can dictate the price per pound, ignoring basic economics. Soon you will tell them who to date, how many children to have and when to have them. Not to mention, what pampers to put on their behind. :-P :-P :-P :-P

  6. Big-Banan
    July 12, 2017

    I challenge that minister to take a fishing trip out there in the scorching sun on little food and re-evaluate he’s comments . Dominica s want everything for free, dental, healthcare, good policing, and now we are complaining about the price of fish . Let us give back some of that corruption money back to the needy .

    • Anthony P. Ismael
      July 12, 2017

      Don’t forget free pampers. :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P

  7. Ny boss
    July 12, 2017

    For once some of u ppl leave Politics alone damn it sick bloody ppl keep staying neggative u all will never go foward what a ppl sakwa gass

    • Anthony P. Ismael
      July 12, 2017

      How can we leave politics out of it, when the Minister of Agriculture was the one who made the statements? That making sense to you? :(

  8. Jayson
    July 12, 2017

    Fish prices will NEVER go down without the relevant legislation being implemented.

    You can give free boats free gas and free engines. It’s not going to happen.

    Stop playing ignorant…

    • Me
      July 12, 2017

      Waiting for the first recipients to put their free boat up for sale for ready cash. Same scenario as free cement and fertilizer.

  9. anonymous2
    July 12, 2017

    The problem is that the fish don’t stay around year long. There are times when you can’t find hardly any fish for weeks. The fisherman try to maximize their money while they can.

  10. Dominican
    July 11, 2017

    It’s not so much the price of fish but its expense in relation to how much people earn. Last week I paid $9.00/lb. for fresh fish, that is wet, not cleaned. The min. wage in Dominica according to a report on DNO 8 Dec. 2014 is $4.05 an hour, the lowest in the OECS and just over half the min. wage in St. Kitts. Now that means that someone has to work nearly 4.5 hours, say half a day, to buy 2 lbs of wet fish. I bought it direct from the fisherman and I bet it is more expensive if you buy it at the fish market. How can ordinary working folk afford to feed their families fresh fish in this scenario. And two pounds of fish is not plenty to feed a whole family, believe me, after you are through cleaning and cooking it, And that is if you are lucky enough to have a job! Most of our people can not afford to buy fresh fish. It has become a luxury food, period.

    • Spike
      July 11, 2017

      Neither the price of a fish nor a wage is set on the basis of what the buyer needs but on the basis of what it costs to catch the fish and what the worker can produce. Anyone can exceed minimum wage through punctuality and diligence and attitude; be of good will and of good faith and treat the boss’s customers well and you will eventually become a “key employee” and able to buy a lot of fish. Don’t quote me statistics and suggest that anyone is consigned to a level of misery forever despite the life decisions that they make!

      • Me
        July 12, 2017

        Spike a wise man once said to me “if you are not measuring you are just playing” and that is exactly what Roosevelt Skerrit is doing.

  11. FORKIT
    July 11, 2017

    what allu expect when they give allu boat…. jess now allu have to bring fish at their home as part of the deal

    • Ny boss
      July 12, 2017

      Shut up dommy y if ppl got notten to talk about dont shut their clappers fool

  12. %
    July 11, 2017

    Drigo basic economics that you and the other dimwits in you corrupt DLP do not know is, if more people are consuming fish, then demand is high, and since there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded, you will see a rise in price, instead of a fall.
    I make no apology to refer to you all IN THIS SO CALLED DLP as clowns.
    SKERRIT MUST GO
    SKERRIT MUST GO
    SKERRIT MUST GO NOW

    • Ny boss
      July 12, 2017

      Another fool just cant find somthing possitive say damn junky

  13. Chester
    July 11, 2017

    Now how about customs duties on everything they purchase??
    It’s the gov’t killing them on everything they buy thru sky high customs duties. When will the fisher be able to buy a vehicle, not a luxury, but just to get to the boat or get to arround when you charge him OVER 100% of the cost. And the cost is whatever the customs guy come up with?? They will naturally keep raising the price of fish in this choatic situation.

    • Spike
      July 11, 2017

      Customs duties on a boat are levied solely to protect the Dominican boatbuilding industry (You have heard of that, right?) and are necessarily recovered from the consumer in the market price of the fish. I agree that removing these needless costs is a way to lower the price of fish and raise the profit in fishing. It is a win-win situation except for the customs agent.

      • Dominican
        July 13, 2017

        What boatbuilding industry, where? The only boats being built here are the hand-hewn canoes of yore. Wonderful as they are, they are inadequate and the bulk of today’s fishing vessels are made of man-made materials, outside Dominica. We heard that same argument to protect our candle industry, pasta production, plastic footwear. Where are they now? They have all gone, despite enjoying this protection but the government has conveniently maintained the import duty on such items.

  14. Anthony P. Ismael: Minister of Free Pampers
    July 11, 2017

    Drigo, Kenneth just give two fishermen $40,000.00 yesterday to purchase an ice machine. When jean Castle Bruce getting theirs? Your granny never tell you that charity begins at home. :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P

  15. Jesus freak
    July 11, 2017

    You can never please Dominicans. Jesus himself would be mocked if He didn’t show you ” proof” of something. I am a US citizen who has been following the fishing developments closely. I am very familiar with the past and present concerns surrounding Dominica and your fishing industry. I am seeing this article from spiritual eyes and it’s clear to me this minister is for his people he fights for the fisherman and is a champion for the people of Dominica what he’s saying is fair. But those of you still looking at life through ” religious” lenses will never truly see the heart of a man being used by God. My comments are not based on what k have read but what I have seen

    • budman
      July 11, 2017

      question: what does your being a US citizen have to do with the topic that you are discussing? you think in this day and age we are impressed that you have the eagle on your passport? you gone foreign and your mind still backward

      • Jesus freak
        July 12, 2017

        It was not to imply any type of superiority or anything it was to reveal that I’m not from DA and that this is my point of view as a foreigner God Bless us all we need Him in everything we do

    • Ny boss
      July 12, 2017

      U r so so right DA has some sick sick ppl and their mentality will never change do good talk good they never satisfied Bloody Crabs in a basket all ppl in DA do is bring each other down lord help them the french was right to say Domiche fami wache

  16. done&done
    July 11, 2017

    Boy, dem fish colorful eh! Chinese dye nuh?

  17. DomiChina
    July 11, 2017

    The Minister is still considering people standing on stone and setting a line in the sea to catch one at a time.
    he is by far disconnected with even the price of a simple fishing boat and the cost of an engine, let alone gas prices.
    you cant sail on a scale, or a fillet table. You cannot use a compass if you are not trained, you cannot use a flashlight without batteries, you cannot take a boat out with an oar anymore, Drigo.
    Sometimes I just don’t understand how on one edge, someone is talking about spending millions and on the other end, hundreds, and people who are making an honest effort to make a living, some Minister is coming to tell them how much to sell their product.
    Mr. Drigo you need to rethink your strategy, rethink your intention and rethink your position in this government. that ministry is certainly not for you.

    • Breathe
      July 12, 2017

      Rethink your comment.

  18. jaded
    July 11, 2017

    The Minister’s comments are inconsistent with the basic economic theory of supply and demand. In fact, an increase in demand for fish will, in a free market, lead to an increase in the price. If wishes were horses….

  19. David
    July 11, 2017

    If the government provide free gas to the Fisher men can low down the prices mister drigo you are not making any sense everyone konws that come better than that

    • Anonymous
      July 12, 2017

      And who said they would lower the price of fish instead of making more profit if government does that? That is what I would do for sure.

  20. Anthony P. Ismael: Minister of Free Pampers
    July 11, 2017

    “He stressed that Dominicans both here and abroad should support the Fishing Industry just as the government is doing, to make it a thriving industry on the island.” Here we go again Drigo with your lies. Last year you stated that over 1-million pounds of fish was exported overseas. You have yet to name one vendor or depot in my neck of the woods where I can purchase Dominican fish exports. Trust and believe I would love nothing more than to purchase my “Red Fish” to cook my braf on the Weekends, if it existed. Surprisingly, you did not mention any figures this time around. I guess 500,000 pounds is a safe bet for this year, since we’re in the month of July, 2017. :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P

  21. d tavernier
    July 11, 2017

    Don’t end up like Antigua. They exported away their future fish supply. Now they’re rapidly exhausting Barbuda’s. Many fishermen are out of work because of over fishing. It’s a finite resourse that needs to be conservatively controlled and not exported. The Bahamas recently sold fishing rights to China; in a few years they’ll come to regret it. The combination of over fishing and the devastation caused by the lion fish will eventually exhaust caribbean fisheries. let’s keep our fish at home; we’re too small to export anything from the sea!

  22. Spike
    July 11, 2017

    Hear hear to the posters who have taken Econ 101, responding to a Minister who has not. Low prices benefit the consumer; high prices benefit the provider; how does a government Minister decide how to pick winners and losers? What the Minister should do is devise a plan to lower taxes and remove impediments to fishing. That will lower prices AND raise profits.

  23. Youth
    July 11, 2017

    Lol laughable.. Mr Drigo things more specifically economics doesn’t work that way, it seems as if you are very disconnected with your ministry as anybody could tell you that encountering fish especially if you live in and around the capital is a rarity, if you do encounter fish one must consider all the costs that could cause the fish to be at wtv price its being sold, gas, time, labour, cost of boat etc its not something as simple as ” lower cost of fish”

  24. EnfantDiable
    July 11, 2017

    The Minister is very correct!

  25. This is so dominica
    July 11, 2017

    This is ridiculous. How is the Minister of Agriculture asking for fishermen to lower their prices? Does he not understand simple supply and demand. Why doesn’t the government considering subsidizing the fishermen. They could set a base price for all different types of fish and when the fisherman brings his catch in, they can value it right there and pay the fishermen for the difference between the lower prices the government set for fish and the actual cost to the fishermen for the fish.

    • Spike
      July 11, 2017

      Nothing is more ridiculous than having the government set the price of a product wrong. Apart from which group you intend to direct benefits to, the price of fish sends an important message. If fish is cheap, people may switch to it from other foodstuffs. If fish is expensive, then people will avoid it except for those who want to pay extra, until pleasure boaters decide to become fishermen and share in the excess profit; then things will balance out. By comparison, all you will achieve is yet another bureaucracy that will never go away. Fishermen don’t need welfare.

      • Ny boss
        July 12, 2017

        Fool their is a thing called price controll and weather u or any one like it or not the Government have the rgt to controll prices on certain products in its country or every one will do as they plzz some of u ppl seems not to think bfor u run ur mouth where did some of u go to school think before u talk

      • July 13, 2017

        Someone who writes like you do shouldn’t ask where others went to school. Anyway, it’s not about whether government has the might to control commodity prices, it’s about whether it’s a good idea. And it isn’t.

        That said, however, Mr Drigo didn’t call for that, he merely seemed to be asking fishermen to lower their prices voluntarily. I doubt that will work, but there’s no harm in him asking.

    • Ny boss
      July 12, 2017

      U r so so right DA has some sick sick ppl and their mentality will never change do good talk good they never satisfied Bloody Crabs in a basket all ppl in DA do is bring each other down lord help them the french was right to say Domiche fami wacheis somthing wrong in asking or wishing that the price b lowerd ,isnt it the people frm DA that will benefit

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